Chapter 255: Attention from the Major Leagues
"Welcome, Mr. Raul!!"
Ever since Seidou High School's baseball team successfully advanced to Koshien, Coach Kataoka had been riding a wave of success.
For him, the team's achievements were just one part of his mission.
More than wins and losses, he cared about developing his players.
To nurture a truly outstanding athlete—that was what gave him the greatest sense of fulfillment.
In the past few years, Seidou's record hadn't been great.
Even so, Kataoka never gave up on his ideals. And in time, his approach proved itself: the players he trained may not have stood out during their high school careers, but once they reached the professional stage, they often performed beyond expectations.
Of course, as the head coach of Seidou's baseball team, prolonged poor results had a real impact—
on him, and on the reputation of the team.
This year, however, things had changed.
The team's long-standing regret had finally been resolved.
Not only was Seidou once again a powerhouse with no apparent weaknesses, but Coach Kataoka had also developed an extraordinary talent.
Naturally, he had every reason to be pleased.
Standing across from him now was a man in his late 30s, with blond hair and blue eyes. He extended his hand enthusiastically.
"Dear Mr. Kataoka, it's such a pleasure to meet you! What a beautiful, sunny day today…"
Raul chatted with a big smile about the weather.
"Yes, indeed," Kataoka replied with a polite chuckle.
But small talk like that wasn't really his thing. He simply nodded along, knowing full well Raul hadn't come all the way here just to discuss the weather.
Sure enough, after just a few pleasantries, the Major League Baseball scout got to the point.
"I'd like to meet with Furuya."
Kataoka wasn't surprised in the least.
Ever since Seidou made it to Koshien, the buzz around the team had been climbing fast.
With that exposure, many of the players were now enjoying nationwide recognition.
Several were already considered rising stars.
But if you asked which player had caught the attention of MLB scouts?
There was only one answer—Furuya Satoru.
No matter how well the other players had performed, none of them—at least for now—were enough to truly interest a scout from the Major Leagues.
"Of course. No problem at all," Kataoka responded immediately.
Truth be told, if he could help it, Kataoka would rather shield his players from distractions like this.
Most of them were still only sixteen or seventeen.
At that age, they might seem grown up on the outside, but emotionally and mentally, they were far from mature.
Too much attention from the outside world could affect their mindset and focus.
High school was a critical period for building a foundation—just like in academics.
Everyone knows how important studying is, but once you leave that school environment, how many people can keep up that same level of dedication?
The answer? Very few.
Still, avoiding outside distractions was one thing.
But if someone from the Major Leagues came knocking, offering a brighter future for his players—
That was something else entirely.
Even before Furuya, whenever pro scouts visited Seidou, Coach Kataoka had always welcomed them warmly.
Not because he wanted to cozy up to anyone.
But because, more than anything else, he cared about his players' futures.
And for that, he was willing to go all out.
So when Director Ota came running, breathless, to find Furuya—
Furuya immediately sensed that something big was happening.
His teammates were just as curious.
They had already made it to Koshien.
Most of the required interviews had been handled over the past few days.
So what could be important enough right now that only Furuya had to show up?
Everyone was deeply concerned.
Part of it was friendship, of course.
But another part was the recognition that Furuya's role on this team was special.
Even though Seidou's core players were all confident in their abilities—
they couldn't deny the truth:
Among this group of prodigies, Furuya stood out.
And not just a little.
Even now, after qualifying for Koshien, Furuya's presence remained irreplaceable.
Without this first-year ace, the most the Seidou players could realistically aim for was a strong performance at the national tournament—
hopefully putting on a good show and going as far as possible.
But with Furuya on the mound, their mindset had shifted entirely.
Now, the players of Seidou had collectively raised their sights to winning it all—becoming national champions.
They didn't know yet if they could truly achieve that.
But they firmly believed that the team they had now—deserved a shot at the title.
"Someone from the Majors?"
The team quickly caught wind of the key detail.
Even Furuya himself was shocked.
Without a second thought, he followed Director Ota straight to Coach Kataoka's office.
Back in the hallway, the rest of Seidou's players stood frozen in disbelief.
"My god! Did you guys hear that just now?!"
One of them blurted out the question in amazement.
"No kidding—I'm not deaf. Of course I heard it,"
grumbled the mustached upperclassman with a grin.
The younger ace having such a brilliant future?
As a senior, Isashiki Jun couldn't help but feel happy for Furuya.
But at the same time, being a third-year himself, he also couldn't help but feel the pressure.
He had no road left to retreat.
If he wanted to continue his baseball career after high school, Koshien was his final shot to catch the eye of scouts or coaches.
He had to perform well there—
only then would he have a real chance in the pro draft.
That thought alone was enough to make him tense up.
Even before the Koshien tournament had even begun, Furuya had already drawn the attention of Major League Baseball.
MLB scouts had come knocking on their own—no prompting needed.
What did people mean when they said "comparison is the thief of joy"?
When they say comparing people or talent only leads to despair?
This was exactly what they meant.
No matter how much Isashiki Jun tried to stay cool, there was no way he didn't feel some type of way.
And he wasn't alone.
Many of the second- and third-year players shared the same mixed feelings.
Because they were all strong players themselves—
they, too, believed they might have a shot at a future in baseball.
That's what made the emotions even more complicated.
On one hand, they were truly happy for their talented junior.
On the other, they couldn't help but feel anxious about their own futures.
As for Furuya himself, he was completely unaware of his senpai's conflicted emotions.
He followed Ota straight to Coach Kataoka's office.
"Ah! What a spirited young man! Hello, dear Furuya! I'm Raul."
The blond-haired foreigner had his eyes locked on Furuya from the moment he walked in.
His mouth didn't stop moving—he was full of chatter.
Furuya gave an awkward smile.
It was obvious he had no idea how he was supposed to respond in this situation.
Coach Kataoka chuckled.
Seidou's freshman ace had many good qualities—but "social butterfly" wasn't one of them.
Around teammates he knew well, Furuya could be calm, even open.
But in front of strangers?
He was cold, distant, and rarely spoke.
"This is a professional scout from Major League Baseball. He works with more than one team," Kataoka explained to help ease the tension.
"Oh no, I've been so rude—I haven't even introduced myself properly. Please allow me to start again."
Raul immediately realized he'd made a big mistake.
A person's title and background can drastically change how someone reacts to them.
Without explaining who he was, coming on too strong might've overwhelmed the kid.
Now more composed, Raul introduced himself in detail.
Just like Kataoka had said, Raul wasn't just any scout.
He worked not only for one MLB team, but also consulted for four Minor League clubs.
Both MLB and MiLB organizations had internal competition.
Even when hiring scouts, it wasn't uncommon for a team to employ multiple scouts.
But a single scout working with several teams at once?
That wasn't something an ordinary talent scout could pull off.
People like Raul were often well-connected—sometimes even acting as agents themselves.
In fact, Raul used to work directly for these teams, and still had powerful relationships within them.
After leaving those positions, he briefly became an agent.
But that life was too exhausting and didn't match his ideals.
So he turned his full attention to scouting.
It allowed him to travel the world, searching for promising young talent—
and also fulfill his dream of traveling the globe with his partner.
It was under those circumstances that he happened to see the West Tokyo finals.
While most people were stunned by Furuya's velocity alone, Raul saw something far more valuable.
Yes, there had been other fireballers in the past.
Even 20 years ago, there were two pitchers who broke 160 km/h in the summer tournament.
They caused a huge stir at the time!
But even then, MLB didn't immediately make an offer to those players.
They had their own standards and evaluation systems.
Throwing 160 km/h was an incredible feat—no question.
But that alone didn't guarantee success in the Majors.
Let alone global stardom.
Furuya wasn't much younger than those two prodigies had been.
They peaked in their second or third year.
Furuya was doing it as a freshman.
Even so, just having a fastball wouldn't have been enough to bring someone like Raul all the way to Seidou.
But he saw something more.
"We're extremely optimistic about Furuya's potential," Raul said.
"If you're willing to sign, we can assign you a personal trainer and a professional nutritionist right away. Don't worry—none of it will cost you a thing. The team will cover it all."
From the get-go, Raul made an offer too good to refuse.
Coach Kataoka maintained a composed smile—
but Ota's eyes were practically glowing.
This was a golden path.
If Furuya took it, and no unexpected disasters occurred, his future in baseball was practically guaranteed to be smooth sailing.
Just like the first time Ota had seen Furuya pitch.
Back then, he'd made a bold prediction—
that this boy named Furuya would one day become a superstar in the world of baseball.
And now, just a few months later…
that prediction was looking pretty damn accurate.
Back then, Furuya was just an unknown boy.
Now, he had grown into someone who could attract the attention of Major League scouts.
When Furuya heard Raul's offer, his expression froze for a moment—visibly stunned.
"Don't feel pressured to respond right away, young man. Take your time to think it over. Here's my contact information," Raul said quickly, sensing the hesitation.
"You can look me up online if you'd like—there's a full profile on me."
Realizing he had come on a bit too strong at the start, Raul was now doing his best to recover.
It had been a misstep—no question.
But Raul still had full confidence that Furuya would ultimately accept the offer.
This kid was undeniably talented.
Even his demeanor spoke of someone exceptional.
But in the end… he was still just a 15-year-old.
Could a 15-year-old boy really turn down the Major Leagues?
Raul seriously doubted it.
Even if Furuya somehow wanted to say no, it wouldn't be that simple.
His family, his coach, even his manager—none of them would let him reject such a life-changing opportunity lightly.
"Once the contract is signed," Raul added, "as long as Furuya doesn't break the terms, he won't have to spend a single penny. On top of that, he'll receive a weekly stipend. It might not seem like much compared to the tens of thousands he could earn weekly in the future, but it shows our sincerity. I've already spoken to the team's owner—he's authorized me to handle this personally."
"He'll get paid, too?"
Ota could barely contain his excitement.
He'd heard of MLB teams scouting and nurturing young talent in advance.
But paying them during development? That was something new to him.
"$1,700 per week," Raul replied.
"That's the highest amount I could negotiate. The owner was already stretching things. Honestly, given how outstanding Furuya is, he deserves even more—but the team has its own policies and regulations…"
---------------
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Shu_21